DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The fate of Daytona Beach’s city manager remains up in the air after the city commission did not vote on whether to renew his contract or not. Instead, in a split vote, they decided to table it.
The vote on whether to renew Deric Feacher’s contract as city manager was set for April 15. However, the city commission decided to table the vote until the next commission meeting so that an evaluation into Feacher could be complete.
The idea was brought up by City Commissioner Stacy Cantu.
“How can you renew a contract without an evaluation,” she asked at Wednesday night’s meeting.
However, it was Mayor Derrick Henry who cast the tie breaking vote to move the decision to the next meeting so that the evaluation could be complete. In the council chambers, community members who attended the meeting were noticeably frustrated with council’s decision.
“I don’t want anyone thinking I have cold feet about committing to where we are going as a community,” said Mayor Henry. “Let’s wait and give a firm and fair comprehensive evaluation so that the manager knows where we stand and he also is given the opportunity to address those concerns moving forward.”
It’s a high stakes decision coming after a sweeping audit of the city’s finances. It highlighted some concerning spending and many blame the city manager.
It shows from 2021 to 2025 the fire department had charged $500,000 on purchasing cards — or p-cards — for vehicles repairs and fuel. This violates city rules.
In addition, the auditor also found more than $50,000 was spent on food and drinks for fire leadership, as well as hundreds of purchases with missing receipts.
$50,000 more was flagged on unexplained tech purchases.
Presumably, the audit will be a point of interest during Feacher’s evaluation.
He has served as city manager since 2021. His current contract expires at the end of May.
City Commission is expected to make a vote on the renewal of his contract at the next commission meeting, set for May 6.